Yarn binder for knitting machines



1.942- o. FREGE'OLLE 70,432

YARN BINDER FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed April 22, 1940 2 She t s-Sheet 1 Emit? "Ill-"ll" [AWE/V701? 05 010252? Balm; .3) 0'7 Jan. 20, 1942. o. FREGEOLLE v YARN BINDER FOR KNIT TING MACHINES FiIedApril 22, .1940 Sheets-Sheet 2 Flay.

Patented Jan. 20, 1 942 o STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

new airman ron xm'rrnyo -rmonmas ,Oscar Fregeolle, Central Falls, B. 1., minor to Hemphiil Company, Central Falls, B. L, a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 22, 1940, Serial No. 330,857

7 Claims.

I This case involves an invention knitting ma- .chines, and more especiallynmechanism for controlling the feeding of yarns including elastic yarns and non-elastic yarns and their control in being introduced to and withdrawn from needles. The controlling mechanism is especially adapted to affect these yarns as they are'taken within a binder and'cutter. Q I

In the figures of drawings: Fig. 1 is a. plan of certain parts of a typical hosiery machine including a carrier ring, yarn feedinglevers and a binder and cutter mechanism to which the novel features herein described have been applied; I

Fig. 2 is a section through the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 and showing certain parts of the binder and cutter more clearly;

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the cutter mechanism and part of its operating means;

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing parts of the binder and cooperating mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a section showing part of a special binder for the elastic yarn; I

Fig. 6 is a view showing in detail a special .guiding meansfor elastic yarn and non-elastic yam;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing certain parts of the binder, the guiding mechanism for the several yarns and the manner in which striping yarns are controlled; I V

Fig. Sis a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing the mechanism at a difierent point in the cycle of operation;

Fig. 9 is a similar diagrammatic view showing control of the elastic yarn while the same is be- Fig. 10 is a similar view but showing control of the elastic yarn as ;it is being bound and cut;

Fig. 10a is an elevation showing the same rela tive position of parts and of the elastic yam as I it is being bound, corresponding to Fig. 10; and

ferev while floating and in being cut and bound. The mechanism herein described assures that the elastic yarn may be individually controlled to feed to spaced courses. being floated at intermediate courses, and may be withdrawn completely at any desired course and bound without interference with other yarn feeding at the main mouthpiece of the machine. Similarly, the yarns at the main mouthpiece may be introduced to the needles and withdrawn at any desired intervals and will not interfere with the feeding or other functioning of the elastic.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 the invention has been illustrated by showing the same as applied to a typical hosiery machine of the Banner type having a binder and cutter such as is commonly used on Banner wrap machines. It is to be understood that this is illustrative of one application of the invention to a particular type machine, and that the same is equally applicable to other types of machines having diiferent bind- I ers and cutters, and that the principles of the invention apply equally well to plain machines or to machines adapted to knit ornamental patterns other than wrap stripe. The elastic yarn is herein referred to as being fed to needles .and preferably, is to be fed to the hooks of needles,

-- although that is not essential as the elastic may throughout the fabric.

mouthpiece such as striping yarns are to be alternately fedand'withdrawn from the needles and are to be controlled so as to be held within a main binder and to be cut by cutting means incidental to said main binder at desired times. There have resulted certain diiliculties in that the elastic and non-elastic yarns thus being fed at points fairly closely associated tend to interbe fed below latches, it not being material what the ultimate disposition of the elastic is to be, that is, whether the same is to be knitted, inlaid or otherwise incorporated. I

A plurality of yarn feeding'ilngers l are pivoted I as is the usual practice in an extension 2 of a carrier ring 3 and are adapted to feed yarns to a circle of independently movable needles 4. For purposes of illustration the first two guides only are shown as threaded up for the, feeding of yarns. It is to be understood that ordinarily more of these guides I would be employed, and i probably all would be threaded. In the knitting of so-called horizontal stripes, the yarns, or at least some of them, would be of contrasting colors and would be alternated so that a yam of a particular color would feed for a certain number of revolutions of the machine and then other colors would follow in turn so that stripes of predetermined width and color would form a pattern On an extension 5 is connected a binder bracket 6 carrying a binder including a plate La vertically movable binder element 8 which is formed as a sort of presser foot at the lower'end of the stem 9. A spring I0 is so connected to the stem and to a fixed part of the assembly that the presser foot 8 is normally urged downwardly into contact with the plate thereby to bind a yarn or yarns passed over the plate and beneath the foot. An auxiliary binder element II is pivoted at I! and acts under the influence of gravity, or possibly by a light spring,

to hold yarns which are not to be withdrawn from the binder as the main presser foot 8 is aised incidental to taking in another yarn.

At the other side of the mechanism, a cutter including a fixed shear blade IS, a movable shear blade H and spring l5 are to be operated so that the movable blade will be opened as a new yarn is to be taken within the binder and is to be cut. An operating lever l6 pivoted at H is connected by a link i8 to an extending arm of the movable blade M which is pivoted at I9 and opens and closes the cutter-at desired times. An interconnecting means between the horizontal arm of the lever l6 and the stem 9 of the main binder element assure that the binder is opened in proper timed relation with the cutter and that upon theclosing movement, the binder engages to hold the yarn or yarns which are to be trapped just prior to the cutter closing and severing a yarn or yarns. The general construction and method 4 of operation of this main binder mechanism is well-known and need not be described in greater detail at this time.

Elastic yarn is to be introduced to the needles by a vertically extending elastic yarn feeding finger having an opening 2| adjacent its lower end through which the elastic yarn is threaded. This finger 20 is angularly bent as at 22 adjacent its upper end .and is in turn carried by a lever 23 at a point not illustrated herein, but in any satisfactory way so as to swing the finger upwardly. The elastic yarn may be completely withdrawn from feeding relation with the needles, or may be raised only slightly at such time as the elastic is not to be taken by needles but is' to be floated across the needle circle and beneath the binder plate 1. The angularly bent extension 22 has an eyelet 24 through which the elastic is threaded and from which it may extend upwardly through tensioning means and appropriate guiding means toa supply. The edge I of the plate 1 is beveled as illustrated at Figs. 7-10 and at certain times the elastic'yarn is to float beneath this plate I as when feeding to spaced courses only. The yarns feeding at the main mouthpiece are to be guided above the plate 1 by the beveled edge I to be taken within the binder and cutter whenever a yarn change is needle 33 which has knitted the same.

accomplished. A guiding element such'as illustrated in Fig. 6 is attached to the binder plate and assures that the elastic yarn floats below the binder plate and thus avoids being caught in the main binder and cutter, and also that the nonelastic yarns fed at the main mouthpiece are guided above the plate for the purpose above mentioned.

This guiding element consists of an-arcuate guard 25 which is concentric with the needle circle and the outer beveled edge of the plate I, an extending connecting arm 26 and an attaching bracket 21. The bracket 21 is fixed to the plate I and the extension 26 is bent so that there is a sufllcient space between the underside of this extension and the top of the plate 1 for yarns to pass to the binder and cutter and to be drawn from the binder. The front end of the arcuate part 25 is inclined and forms a notch 28 by means of which the threads fed at the main completely withdrawn to be taken in the auxiliary elastic binder.

The elastic binder is shown in Figs. 5, 10a. and 11, only enough being shown to illustrate the principles of operation with respect to the novel construction herein being described and claimed. A vertically movable rod 29, preferably of circular cross-section, moves within a sleeve 30. The rod is notched as shown at 3| and when pushed downwardly as shown in Fig. 10a, the notch will be positioned slightly above the top edge of the guide 25 and an elastic yarn may be taken in the notch whereupon upward movement of the rod 29 to the position illustrated in Fig. 5 will cut the elastic yarn at that end nearest the last needle taking the same, but will bind it against the sleeve 30 at the other side. To accomplish this the lower part of the notch 3| is. sharp at one side and functions against the underside of the sleeve 30 as a cutter, The opposite side is rounded and merely serves to pinch the elastic against the side of the sleeve thereby acting to bind the same until released. The lower end of the rod 29 projects outwardly as at 32 so as to assist in guiding the elastic into the notch.

Now referring to Figs. '7 and 8. a few needles, yarn guides feeding separate yarns such as striping yarns, the binder plate, the guard or guide 25 and the main binder, auxiliary binder, cutter, and the lastic yarn binder and cutter are shown illustrating the manner in which striping yarns are controlled. In Fig. 7 a yarn a has been feeding and is just being withdrawn from the last The other yarn b has been taken by the needles beginning at needle 34 and is to be knitted, this illustrating an ordinary striping yarn change. The yarn b has been held beneath the binders 9 and l I and also cut at the cutter blades H. As the needles move around farther the yarn b will be drawn frombeneath the binder elements 9 and II and it is at this point that the notch 28 is of assistance in that the said yarn will be drawn out through that notch and thus cannot interfere with the elastic yarn, no matter whether that yarn is feeding to needles, is being floated, or is 'cut and bound within its own independent binder.

In Fig. 8 the yarn b is still feeding and yarn a is shown in full lines as the needle 33 has progressed around farther. This yarn a will move against the bevelededge of the plate I and will be guided between the edge of that plate and the inner side of the guard or guide '25. As shown in Fig. 8, this entraps that yarn so that it must enter beneath the raised presser foot 8 of the binder plate, beneath the auxiliary binder l l arid mouthpiece are controlled as will be explained in greater detail. The depth of the arcuate guide 25 is such that the lower ed e is about even with the bottom of the plate I while the top edge is high enough to prevent an elastic yam which is floating from getting above the guide, also to allow an elastic yarn which is being into the cutter, this latter position being illustrated by dotted lines for the yarn which has been cut and for the cut end a dot and dash line. The elastic yarn binder which is closed at this time will be high enough so that the striping yarn or other main yarn must pass beneath it.

Now referring to Figs. 9, 10 and 10a control of the elastic yarn is shown. The same elements are illustrated in those figures except that only one main yarn is shown feeding, this being done for purpses of simplifying the illustration. It is to be understood that there would be another yarn or yarns held in the main binder at this time. The elastic yarn e is fed through guide 20 and in Fig. 9 has been taken by ever other needle up to the needle whereupon it is floated, the guide 20 being elevated slightly at that time. However, the position of the end of guide 20 is such that as the elastic yarn floats it will be drawn to the outer side of the guard 25 and beneath that guard thus being carried below the binder plate and can not interfere with yarns feeding at the main mouthpiece or with a change of yarns which might occur simultaneously with the float of the elastic yarn.

Whenever it is desired to discontinue feeding the elastic altogether, guide Zll is raised to a considerably greater extent and the elastic binder opened to the position shown in Fig. a. The result is that the elastic yarn will then be drawn across the upper edge of the guard '25 and through the notch 3| of its binder, the latter.

being automatically controlled'at the appropriate time to cut and clamp its yarn. The auxiliary binder I l is notched in its front side as shown at 36, Figs. 4 and 10a, and assists in guiding the elastic yarn so that it will more certainly be taken in the notch 3|.

In Fig. 11 the elastic is shown floating and a striping yarn is incidentally shown passing down beneath the extension 26 and into its binder as it is about to be trapped and cut. This illustration shows the function of the guard 25 in confining each of these threads to its own particular space so that interference is avoided during a machine operation which is necessarily accomplished at high-speed, within a very limited space. and, in such a manner that without the assistance of the uard and particular arrangement of parts herein shown, interference and unsatisfactory operation are very likely to result.

In the diagrammatic Figs. 7-11, the binder and cutter have been shown in a diagrammatic way and it is to be understood that the invention may be applied to machines having different binders and cutters located within the needle circle and that the principles of the invention apply to any of these machines. Certain variations in placement of parts, in'the proportions, or in the specific details may be resorted to and the general principles herein taught applied. The invention is to be, limited only by the scope of the appended claims. I

I claim: Y

- 1. In a knitting machine the combination of a circle of independently movable needles, a main mouthpiece and feeding means thereat for a plurality of yarns, a binder plate .and a binder and cutter on said plate for said yarn, feeding means for an elastic yarn and an independent cutter and binder for that yarn and guiding means in- I eluding an arcuate guard at the outer edge of said binder plate adapted to guide the elastic yarn beneath the binder plate when said elastic yarn is to float and to restrict yarns fed at the main mouthpiece in such a manner that they pass between said guard and said plate to enter the main binder and cutter upon yarn change.

i 2. In a knitting machine a circle of independently movable needles, a binder plate within said circle of needles 8. main binder and cutter on said plate, an auxiliary binder and cutter above said plate and an arcuate guard supported by the means thereat for feeding yarns to the needles,

between the outer edge of said plate and the circle of needles having its lower edge at about the lower side of the binder plate and its upper surface just below the second mentioned binder and cutter and having a yarn engaging notch within which yarns fed at one of said feeding means are to be entrapped and guided within the main binder and cutter.

4. In a knitting machine a circle of independently' movable needles, a main mouthpiece and a second yarn feeding means for feeding an elastic yarn spaced from said mouthpiece, a binder plate and a binder and cutter mechanism for yarns feeding at the main mouthpiece including a binder, an auxiliary binder and cutter, a separate and independently operated binder and cutter for the elastic yarn and a guard between the circle of needles and the binder plate for keeping separate floats of the elastic yarn and floats of the yarn fed at the mouthpiece as they are being changed, the guard having an upper edge for assisting in guiding the elastic yarn into its binder and cutter and the auxiliary binder on the binder plate having therein a notch for further assisting in guiding that elastic yarn.

5. In a knitting machine the combination of a circle of independently movable needles, a main mouthpiece and yarn feeding means thereat for a plurality of yarns adapted to be changed so that diiferent ones of said yarns may feed in sequence, elastic yarn feeding means spaced from said mouthpiece, a binder plate and a main binder and cutter for yarns fed at the mouthpiece, a separate and individually operated binder and cutter for an elastic yarn fed by said elastic yarn feeding means and an arcuate guard so disposed with respect to said binder plate as to guide said elastic yarn beneath the plate as that yarn is floated, said guard functioning further upon withdrawal of the elastic yarn from the needles to be taken within the elastic yarn binder, to guide it into said binder.

6. In a knitting machine, a circle of independent needles, feeding means for a plurality of said guard member being so constructed as to keep the elastic yarn as it is floated or taken within its binder and cutter, separate from the yarns being fed at the first mentioned feeding means.

plate and extending between an edge of the plate I outside the circle of needles and a binder and cutter within the circle of needles operable upon a binder plate and adapted to bind and cut yarns fed by one of said spaced yarn feeding means. a

second binder and cutter independently operable and situated above the binder plate and-a guard clamped in one binder to interfere with a yarn or yarns fed by the other means and\ clamped by the other binder, and a guard for keeping separate the two yarns as they are feeding or floating or upon being clamped in their binders oscaa FREGEOLLE. 

